Elevator-hatch way



' 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

(No Model.)

C. A. MCALLISTER, ELEVATOR HATGHW'AY.

Patented Feb. 5, 1889.

f f f llNiTnn STATES PATENT @Tries CYRUS ABROM NUALLLVFER, OF ROCfIIIETER, NEW YORK.

ELEVATOR-HATCHWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,19*?, dated February 5, 1889.

Application filed May 25, 1888.

To all whom, i6 may concern:

Be it known that i, Cvnus Anson McAL- LISTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Automatically Opening and Closing Elevator- Hatchways; and l do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertai ns to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompas nying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of the invention is to provide :means for opening and shutting a gate or door for an elevator-hatchway that will automatically operate with ease and certainty; and it consists in the constructions and combinations hereinafter described and pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side view of an elevator-well eX- tending through two floors of a building, a part of the wall of the elevator-well being broken away and the view being taken on the side opposite a hatchway and gate. Fig. 2 represents a vertical section of the same transverse to the gate and looking toward the mechanism for opening and closing the same. Fig. 3 is 'an enlarged sectional view showing the counterbalanced weights that move the gate and a part of the elevator or elevator-car carrying a spring weight lifting and depressing linger, and Fig. l represent-s a cross-section of a weight.

An elevator or car is representefl at 1, and guides or Ways for the same at. 2.

3 indicates a hoisting-rope secured to the elevator, which latter may be raised or lowered in any approved way.

4 is a doorway or hatchway, and 5 a gate for closing the same. This gate is preferably made of vertical and horizontal bars having Serial No. 275,039. (No model.)

pivoted or journaled connections with each 5 other, and at least one horizontal bar has a similar connection with the wall or door-frame,

as at 6, the construction being such that the body of the gate can be raised and lowered by turning it upon the pivot or journal fixed in the wall or frame, as indicated in dotted i lines in Fig. 1. This construction is well known and need not be further described.

A cord, 7, is secured to the gate and eX- tended over a swiveled pulley, 8, and thence over a pulley, 9, fixed in a bracket secured to a post of the elevator-well, and thence down to a weight, 10, in such manner that the falling of the weight raises the gate, as indicated in Fig. 1. Vfeight is counterbalanced by a weight, 1l.. The former has attached to it a cord, 12', which runs over pulley 9 and the-nce down to weight 11, to which it is also fastened. The weights are also similarly connected by cord 13, passing underpulley 14.

The weights above described have each a dovetailed connection with a suitably-shaped way or guide formed on a post secured by brackets or otherwise to a post of the well. l may, however, form the guide or way on the well-post itself by suitably enlarging the saine, or by forming a suitable extension thereon.

The weights beinO' connected b cords ort: C J

chains) as above specified, slide up and down on the ways, counterbalancing each the other, the smaller weight being aided by the gate in this particular through the medium of cord '7. In practice weight 10 is made sufficiently heavy to raise the gate alone, but not heavy enough to raise both the gate and weight 11.

The action of cords 12 and 13 around pulleys 9 and 1l is such that they are always made taut by the said counterbalancing.

The weights are constructed to be moved as follows: Spring-actuated catches 15 are pivoted to the weights, so as to project near the path of the elevator or elevator-floor- 16 16 indicate the springs which normally force these catches outwardly. M y preferred form is represented as a plate-spring fastened at its middle 2O to the weight with its free en ds bearing against the catches.

A spring lifting and depressing device, 17, is secured to the elevator, preferably to the floor, and arranged. to norm ally engage a catch (in its upward or down ward movement) on one of the weights.

18 1S are releasing ptites or pins rigidly sel, cured to a post and arranged in the path of the catches 15 in such manner that when one of the latter is carried by the movement of a weight against a plate, 18, the latter engages the inclined plane of the catch, causing a comn IOO pression oi the spring on the opposite side, so that the catch is forced back by the plate or pin toward the weight, thereby releasing the spring-Hugin' 17. l'his allows the spring-linger and the elevator to which it is Vfastened to move independentl y oi the weight until said finger engages ai'mther catch.

Referring to Fig. il, it will be seen that the spring-plate i7 is in engagementwith the upper catch on weight ll. `This would be the situation in theulnvard movement of the elcvator as it approaches the vfloor immediately above at the moment when the opening oi' the gate lis desirable to allow passage into or out of the elevator. At this time the engagement of spring-plate 17 with catch l5 has caused the weight 1l to beraised and the counierbalancing-weight lO to be lowe1.cd,and the lowering of weight l() has eonnnenced the elevation of the gate by its pull upon cord 7, which passes over pulleys S and t), the latter being swiveled to lie in different planes, according to the n'iovement of the gate and the consequent changes in the direction of that part of the cord 7 which extends from the gate to said pulley. As the elevator continues to ascend, the openingI of the gate will be completed; but when the upper catch, l5, has ascended to the next releasing-plate 18 said catch will be moved by the plate toward the weight, thereby releasing plate 17, which continues to move upward without t-he weight 1l. Thereupon the plate 17, moving up with the elevator and past plates 1S, located j ust above the floor, and past the lower catch, 15, on weight 10, engages the upper catch thereon and begins to raise such weight, with the effect to allow weight l1 to descend and the gate to close, the counterlilalanciiig-weight being lifted, as just specilied.

The operation lwill be understood from Fig. 2i, which shows in dotted lines the position oi.' catch l5 on weight l1 at the incluent; that said weight .has been raised to its highest elevation and weight moved to its lowest position, at which time the gate is open, having been raised through the medium of cord 7 by the superior gravity of the upper weight, to which said cord is attached. The t'ull lines show the position of the parts at the next moment when the upper catch on weight 11 has been moved out of the way by a plate, 18, and the elevator is ascending to carry `linger 17 by said catch, and also by the lower catch, l5, of weight l() and into eilgagement with the upper catch on the latter weight, whereby the continued ascent of the elevator will lift it, thereby lowering (by gravity) weight ll and closing the gate. ln the descent of the elevator the gate opened and closed in like manner by a reverse movement of the same operating devices. The upward movement of the elevator, spring-plate 1'7, and weight l() continues until the latter are released by another releasing-plate 1S, suitably placed above.

A similar arrangement ot' dcvices can be used in connection with each floor.

lt will be understood Afrom the above description that the raising of weight 1l and of the gate lowers the eounter-bailance lt), and that when the gate is raised the weights are adjacent to each other, as shown in lfig. Il, and that lo provide l'or moving the upper catch of weight `l l and the lower catch ot' weight l0 out of the path ot' plate lT two adjacent releasing-plates 1S are required. A single one ot' extra width, however, could. be used with `the same effect. ln the reverse operation the same plates cause th e same catches io move out oi the path oi' spring-'finger 1.7 in such manner that it is released from weight il() when the latter is at the bottom of its path and is made to immediately engage with the lower catch of weight 1l.

The devices described insure the antlinnatic timely opening and closing of a gate or door giving entrance and exit to and from the elevator. -They operate with great certainty and without noise or unnecessary expenditure ot' power, and are believed to be new and valnable innwovements in elevators.

lt is obvious that the gate may be made solid and provided with a single pivot orjournal; also, that the location of the pulley 7,the

length of the cords, and the location. and size or length of the lifting and releasing plates and of the catches and other details may be varied to some extent without materially departing from the invention. I have illustrated my preferred. form, but propose to make minor changes, aeconfling as required under various circumstances.

ln some cases a single weight, one cord, and pulleys maybe used together with a catch, depressing-finger, and releasing device whereby the frate may be opened, the gate being made sufficienti y heavy to lift the weight and close by gravity upon the release of the catch.

l am aware that gates for closing elevatorhatchways have been counterbalanced with weightsarranged tobc depressed by the car and automatically released, and that 'various arrangements of pulleys, weights, and gates, whereby the latter can, be automatically opened. and closed, have been heretofore known, and l do not broadly claim such devices, but only the matterpart-icularly pointed ont.

llavingthus described my invention, whatl desire to claim and secure by Trotters Patent 1. The combimition, in an elevator, oi' the weight and gate with. a counterbalancingweight, pulleys, and cords passing over said pulleys and connected each to both weights, a. weight-lifting plate, and a releasing-plate, all constructed and arranged substantially as specified, whereby one weight may be made to overbalance the gate, and may subsequently lOO llO

be itself overbalanced by the other 'weight acting with the gate.

2. ln eombination with a movable gate or door, a eord and pulleys, a eounterbalaneingweight provided with two spring-actuated Catches, l5, a lifting-plate secured to the elevator-ear, and a releasing-plate secured to the well-frame, substantially as speeiedvliereby the Weight may be lifted or depressed positively, as desired. Y

3. A Weight for use in eouiIterbalaneing an elevator-door, consistingI of a body provided with pivoted eatelies, and a spring, lo, secured to tlie body and having its free ends arranged to normally press against the eatehes, substantially as speeied.

4. The combination of the pivoted gate, the swiveled pulley-block near the front of the elevator-well, a eounterbalaneilig-Weight, a fixed pulley, a eord eonneeting the gate and the weight, the cord ruiming over both the fixed and movable pulley, a seeond Weight, fixed pulley7 and Connecting-oord, all substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the elevator ear, spring-plate,Weights l0 and ll,providedwith spring-actuated Catches l5 and Constructed and arranged to move on guides, cords oonneeting' the Weights, the pulleys, and a gate eonneeted by a oord with one of the Weights, substantially as speci ednvliereby the Weights may be alternately raised and depressed and the gate opened and closed.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CYR Annen MQALLISTER.

vi tn esses:

MARTIN W. HUDsoN, WILLIAM GUENTHER. 

